The present invention relates to a sheet supplying device capable of feeding a plurality of kinds of sheets having sizes different from one another for use in an image forming apparatus.
FIG. 5 shows a view for description of a printer assembled with a conventional automatic sheet supplying device. In FIG. 5, within the printer, are provided a printing section 105 having a cylindrical platen 101 and a print head 103, two pairs of feed rollers 107, 109 positioned at upstream and downstream sides of the printing section 105, and a tractor unit 111 for feeding a continuous form sheet. An automatic sheet supplying device 113 is provided for feeding cut sheets to the printer at a front side of the printer, and a stacker 115 is provided at a rear side of the printer for receiving the printed cut sheet.
In the printer shown in FIG. 5, the continuous form sheet is inserted from the front side of the printer and is fed via the printing section 105 by the tractor unit 111, and is discharged from the rear side of the printer. On the other hand, the cut sheet is fed from the automatic sheet feeder 113 into the printer and fed via the printing section 105 by two pairs of the rollers 107, 109, and is discharged onto the stacker 115. Each of the sheet feed passages are shown by broken lines.
In the printer, sound is generated by the actuation of a drive motor which drives the sheet feeding mechanism, by the gear motion and by the printing operation in the printing section. In the automatic sheet feeder 113 shown in FIG. 5, cover members are provided at lateral sides thereof for covering the sheet feed mechanism including a sheet supply roller 117. However, no cover is provided at a top portion of the sheet feeder. Therefore, during a printing operation utilizing either the cut sheet or the continuous form sheet, the generated sound may be propagated in a direction indicated by arrows, so that the sound is leaked out of the printer to render a person uncomfortable.
In order to shield the sound propagation path, a cover member may be provided for surroundingly covering the automatic sheet feeder. However, such a cover must be larger than the largest size sheet which can be fed by the automatic sheet feeder. Therefore, such a cover occupies a larger space, which becomes an obstacle for various works to be conducted around the printer. Further, similar drawbacks may be pointed out in a copying machine and a facsimile machine as well as the printer.